If you want to see how people who make rules, break them - come to Mantralaya. Over 1,500 class-II and class-III officials in Mantralaya have not been transferred in the last 15 years making a mockery of government rules and the above cited directive. Deputy Secretary N M Joshi in the Irrigation Department; Desk Officer V K Bhalerao in the Urban Development Department and Under Secretary Meera Daphalapurkar in the Housing and Special Assistance Department are some of the officials who have enjoyed this unexplained immunity from transfers. And these are just examples. Every department of Mantralaya - 27 in all - has some employees who have been there for years.

Navin Kumar, Principal Secretary (services) of GAD,admits these officials have not been transferred for years together. ``Minister of State for Home and GAD, Prabhakar More, reviewed transfers recently. It is true that a number of officials have not been transferred for several years. We will transfer them but it will take some time. Dheere dheere karna padega,'' he said.

Sources say use of influence to stall transfers is rampant among Mantralaya employees. While those related to ministers don't have a thing to worry, others with ``right connections'' also manage to get extensions. Though how the rules are bent is a mystery, for the November '97 directive is crystal clear.

It says: ``Officials must be transferred after every three years. Considering admissions to schools and colleges, officials must be transferred in the month of May every year. Competent officers having powers to order transfers must prepare a list of such officials in the month of October every year. Extension in one post beyond three years should be allowed only in exceptionalcases. Any officer should not be allowed to continue in the same post for more than four years; if it has to be done, approval from the Chief Minister is mandatory. Transferring all officers from a department at once creates problems for functioning of the government. To avoid this, 35 per cent officers from the department should be transferred in a year.''

Kumar told Express Newsline that transfers would be effected soon to set anomaly right. He, however, was non committal when asked if a deadline would be set for the same.